Light metal alloy



Patented Nov. 22, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE many, assignors to Motorenwerke,

- Germany Junkers Flugzeug-und- Aktiengesellschaft, D essau,

No Drawing. Application March 28, 1935, Serial No. 13,436. Renewed October 18, 1938. In Germany November 22, 1934 2 Claims.

Our invention relates to a light metal alloy, more especially of the type in which aluminium is alloyed with magnesium. It is an object'of this invention to provide an alloy of this type, which contrary to expectations possesses great ductility, heat strength and other favorable properties.

Hitherto aluminium alloys containing magnesium and iron were considered to be inferior m in value, since the iron is not taken up by the aluminium under the form of solid solution and further since the danger of liquation arises upon casting.

We have now found that contrary to all expectations alloys containing, besides aluminium, about .1 to 2 per cent magnesium and 2 to per cent iron possess favorable metallurgical properties, more particularly great ductility, in contradistinction to the fact that even small in quantities of iron occurring in other commercial light metal alloys will render them brittle and short. The new alloy further possesses the valuable property of presenting a high heat strength, its tenacity decreasing only slightly at elevated temperature.

A further advantage offered by this alloy consists therein that it is excellently suited as raw material for machine parts subject to sliding friction, such as bearings, bushings, guides, pistons 30 etc., since it possesses very favorable running properties. In view of the flexibility of the new material, its use for the purpose mentioned above offers great advantages more especially in the case where the parts of machinery made from it a are required to possess besides a high specific loading capacity also a certain elasticity, as is the case for instance with the crank bearings of the crank shafts of engines.

An alloy containing, besides aluminium, about a .5 per cent magnesium and 6 per cent iron has proved to be particularly suitable as a material for parts of machinery subject to sliding motion, which are also required to possess some elasticity.

In cases where high specific pressures on the bearing must be provided for, harder alloys may prove preferable, such as for instance alloys containing, besides aluminium, 8 per centmagnesium and 8 per cent iron or 8 per cent magnesium and 2 per cent iron.

Owing to their ductility the alloys according to the present invention are not only suitable for use in castings, but may also be converted into intermediate or final products produced by kneading, i. e. by rolling, drawing, hammering,

forging, pressing or the like, such as sheets, rods,

profiles, tubes and forged and pressed shapes.

The term aluminum used in the specification and in the following claims is intended to include not only pure aluminum, but also a metal containing the impurities of commercial aluminum or small amounts of other impurities.

Various changes may be made in the details disclosed in the foregoing specification without departing from the invention or sacrificing the advantages thereof.

In the claims affixed to this specification no selection of any particular modification of the invention is intended to the exclusion of other modifications thereof and the right to subsequently make claim in the present application to any modification not covered by these claims is expressly reserved.

We claim:

1. A machine part subject to sliding friction constructed of an alloy consisting of about 0.1 to 2 per cent of magnesium, about 2 to 10 per cent of iron, with a balance of aluminum, said alloy possessing great ductility, a high heat strength and favorable sliding properties.

2. A machine part subject to sliding friction constructed of an alloy consisting of about 0.5 per cent magnesium and about 6 per cent iron, with a balance aluminum, said alloy possessing great ductility, a high heat strength and favorable sliding properties.

HANS STEUDEL. HEINZ WIECHELL. 

